Poison

Describing Poison's wild early days, drummer Rikki Rockett told the Pitch's Geoff Harkness in 2000: "We only knew how to do it one way, and that was to entertain people." And they did — by blowing up Harley engines on Sunset Strip stages while cavorting about in thick masks of makeup, spiked-out hair and Kiss-like costumes. In fact, this glam-granddaddy band has never changed its wicked ways — it's still a hair-metal hedonist's dream come true. Poison continues to rock and roll about knife-edged pleasure ("I Hate Every Bone in Your Body but Mine"), all-night parties ("Can't Bring Me Down") and mind-melting drug use ("Stupid, Stoned and Dumb"). One of the few '80s groups to survive the '80s, the band persists with its anthemic guitar riffs, flamboyant special effects and soaring vocals. As show after rowdy live show reveals, they still only know how to do it one way.